El Chalten weather in August

In August, El Chalten sees average daytime highs of -1°C and overnight lows near -6°C, with 215 mm of precipitation across 20.4 wet days and about 9.8 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -1°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in August, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 hours at the start of August to 10 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, August is El Chalten's 6th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see El Chalten's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-1°
10th warmest
Overnight low
-6°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
215 mm
20.4 wet days
Daylight
9 h 48 min
9:02 AM – 6:49 PM
Cloud cover
76%
6th clearest
Wind
7 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
2.06 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Temperature in August

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -1°C through the month.

A typical August day in El Chalten reaches about -1°C in the afternoon and slips back to -6°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -4°C and 3°C. Set against its neighbours, August runs about 1°C warmer than July and about 2°C cooler than September.

-15°-10°-5°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-1-6
2-1-6
3-1-6
4-1-6
5-1-6
6-1-6
7-1-6
8-1-6
9-1-6
10-1-6
11-1-6
12-1-6
13-1-6
14-1-6
15-1-6
16-1-7
17-1-7
180-6
190-6
200-6
210-6
220-6
230-6
240-6
250-6
260-6
270-6
280-6
290-6
300-6
310-6

How August really feels in El Chalten

Once humidity and wind are folded in, August averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
wind chill below the day's low

The story in August is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

El Chalten weather by month

How August compares with the rest of the year at a glance. August is the 10th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 25222.819.515.60.8
Feb / 20217.813.614.21.1
Mar / -1°25020.917.312.50.5
Apr / -3°26820.418.810.60.0
May / -4°26520.3208.90.0
Jun-2° / -7°22119.720.680.0
Jul-2° / -7°21919.920.88.40.0
Aug-1° / -6°21520.421.49.80.0
Sep / -5°17919.220.511.60.0
Oct / -4°22819.920.413.50.0
Nov / -2°234212115.10.0
Dec / -1°26222.820.7160.2

Cloud cover in August

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in August.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of August, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 78%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12080
21981
31981
41882
51882
61981
71981
82080
92080
102179
112377
122377
132377
142575
152674
162674
172674
182674
192674
202674
212575
222575
232575
242377
252377
262278
272278
282278
292179
302179
312179

Chance of precipitation in August

Any precipitationSnow

El Chalten gets around 215 mm of rain and snow over 20.4 wet days in August. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 66% and peaks near 67% on the wettest days, and about 21 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
16669
26769
36769
46769
56770
66670
76670
86669
96669
106669
116669
126569
136568
146568
156568
166468
176468
186467
196467
206468
216468
226568
236568
246669
256669
266669
276670
286670
296670
306670
316670

Humidity in August

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of August feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, August lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in August

Winds average 7 km/h in August.

Across August, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in August

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 hours at the start of August to 10 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 102 minutes over August. Sunrise moves from 9:28 AM to 8:32 AM, and sunset from 6:27 PM to 7:11 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.09:286:27
29.09:266:29
39.19:256:30
49.19:236:32
59.29:226:33
69.29:206:34
79.39:186:36
89.39:176:37
99.49:156:39
109.49:136:40
119.59:126:42
129.69:106:43
139.69:086:44
149.79:066:46
159.79:046:47
169.89:026:49
179.89:006:50
189.98:596:52
199.98:576:53
2010.08:556:55
2110.18:536:56
2210.18:516:58
2310.28:496:59
2410.28:477:01
2510.38:457:02
2610.48:437:04
2710.48:407:05
2810.58:387:07
2910.58:367:08
3010.68:347:10
3110.78:327:11

Solar energy in August

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in August, about 2.06 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.97 kWh/m² to a high of 7.27 kWh/m² in December across the year — August's 2.06 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.5Dim
21.6Dim
31.6Dim
41.6Dim
51.6Dim
61.7Dim
71.7Dim
81.8Dim
91.8Dim
101.8Dim
111.9Dim
121.9Dim
131.9Dim
142.0Dim
152.0Moderate
162.1Moderate
172.1Moderate
182.1Moderate
192.2Moderate
202.2Moderate
212.3Moderate
222.3Moderate
232.3Moderate
242.4Moderate
252.4Moderate
262.5Moderate
272.5Moderate
282.6Moderate
292.6Moderate
302.7Moderate
312.7Moderate
Planning a trip in August

Is August a good time to visit El Chalten?

Our two travel scores rate August for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.0
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

August is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in El Chalten.

What to pack for El Chalten in August

From August's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In August, El Chalten sees daytime highs around -1°C and nights near -6°C. Pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear. About 20 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in El Chalten in August

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in August peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in El Chalten peaks around December 23 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeModerateLowModerateHighVery highExtremeDec 23UV 12Jun 19UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan12Extreme
Feb11Extreme
Mar6High
Apr3Moderate
May2Low
Jun1Low
Jul1Low
Aug2Low
Sep4Moderate
Oct7High
Nov8Very high
Dec13Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is El Chalten?

El Chalten sits at 49.3°S, 72.9°W, 0 m above sea level, in Argentina. The nearest listed city is El Calafate, 121 km away.

Puerto NatalesRío GallegosCoyhaiqueLas HerasPuerto AysénPunta ArenasPico Truncado

Topography around El Chalten

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of El Chalten.

Within 3 km, the terrain around El Chalten has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 458 m around an average of 530 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,616 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,553 m.

The land around El Chalten is covered by grassland (57%) and trees (23%) within 3 km, bare terrain (37%) and grassland (29%) within 16 km, and snow and ice (32%), grassland (25%) and bare terrain (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
458 m
16 km
2,616 m
80 km
3,553 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
August weather nearby: El Calafate 121 km · Puerto Natales 268 km · Río Gallegos 362 km · Coyhaique 422 km · Las Heras 428 km · Puerto Aysén 437 km · Punta Arenas 448 km · Pico Truncado 462 km

Argentina travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / I
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 46% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$14,898
2025
Happiness
6.4 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
4.5
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
14.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 575
Religion
Roman Catholic 63%none 19%Evangelical 15%Jehovah's Witness and Church of Jesus Christ 1%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for El Chalten (-49.3299°, -72.886°, elevation 0 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).